The present disclosure generally relates to connectors, and in particular to the cleaning and maintenance of optical connectors, and is particularly applicable to consumer electronic optical connectors.
The science of fiber optics is applicable to various fields of technology and is often applied to the transmission of communication signals. Individual optical fibers, which each act as a waveguide for directing light from one end of the fiber to the other, can be bundled together to form a fiber optic cable. As the use of fiber optics migrates into numerous consumer electronics applications, such as connecting computer peripherals (USB and Firewire cables for example), there will be a consumer driven expectation for cables having improved performance and a broad range of use and for cable connectors that are at least as reliable as traditional wire cable connectors. As a specific example, as the Intel® USB 4 connector design continues to mature, the ability to reach the optical surfaces in the connector is becoming increasingly difficult because they are buried deep within the connector and may be protected with shutters and other protective features.
Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation. Fiber optic networks often include separated interconnection points linking fiber optic cables and connecting such cables to devices to provide “live fiber” from one connection point to another connection point. For this purpose, fiber optic cables generally terminate in male and/or female connectors that can be coupled to the connectors of like fiber optic cables or to electronic equipment to complete and optical connection.
At the interconnections within the connectors, light exiting the core of the optical fiber or fibers of a cable is immediately introduced into a core of the optical fiber or fibers within an adjacent connected fiber optic connector. If two cores are misaligned, then much of the optical signal is not exchanged from the core of the first fiber optic cable to the core of the second fiber optic cable. This results in signal degradation at the interconnections. Furthermore, and more salient to the present disclosure, if a piece or pieces of debris is caught in either of the fiber optic connectors, then it is likely that little or no optical signal will be exchanged from the core of the first fiber cable to the core of the second fiber optic cable, particularly if the debris has a size that is approximately the same size or larger than the size of the terminating surfaces of the fiber optic cables within the connector. Unlike wire cable connectors, dust, dirt and other contaminants are a particular problem in optical connections because they interfere with the passage of light from one fiber to another and the information embedded in the light is not or is poorly transmitted. Fiber optic connectors must therefore be kept clean to ensure long life and to minimize transmission loss and optical return loss at connection points. A single dust particle caught between two connectors can cause significant signal loss. Dust particles as small as 1 micrometer (μm) in diameter at a connection point can significantly degrade performance. Particles 8 μm in diameter or larger at a connection point can cause a complete failure of an optical system.
In addition, dust particles within optical connectors can scratch optical components, such as lens and mirrors, resulting in permanent damage. What is needed is a simple and reliable apparatus for cleaning and inspecting optical connectors, particularly in locations where the connectors are not easily accessible. What is also needed is a simple and inexpensive mechanical system to position a cleaning device close to a connector so the optical components of connector can be adequately aligned and cleaned. An additional need is for fiber optic connector cleaning options that work with the deeply buried, highly shrouded, and/or shuttered optical components within recent connector and receptacle designs. It is to these and other needs that the present disclosure is primarily directed.